high & lonesome

I.
temperance -
yer wet.

wet like singing glasses,
my wet finger long the ridge.

summer wet / winter wet
in temperance, steam rises;
smelling like cedar,
wet like a rope.

wet like the temptress
wet like the tropics,
wet like my two fingers,
wet from my two cups

wet like my teacup
heavy w/ diamonds-
(the first to be
knocked
over.

II.
now i'm tempting the temptress
to take me away
in a volvo that
outruns loneliness.

this is me,
tempting the temptress
through somber backroads
and stoic cornfields
in bodies built for distance,
diving off bridges,
running through the streets.

III.
i found her in the kitchen, hands outstretched
towards the burner, blood dripping from her
swollen jaws.

swollen like the door after snow falls
(the door won't budge, it just won't close)
she helps herself to raw milk and venison,
warming her sore timbres by the stove.